Survey: Mobile devices to get big play over the holidays

Petaluma, Calif. -- Research results released Wednesday by multichannel commerce solution-provider MarketLive found that mobile will be used heavily for researching deals, making purchases and connecting with merchants across channels this holiday season.

According to the annual "Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper" survey, in 2012, customers will spend about the same amount on holiday gifts as last year—but a greater share of that spending will be online.

Of the more than 1,000 shoppers surveyed, 33% said they will do 'All' or 'Most' of their shopping on the Internet this holiday season. That's a significant jump from last year's 25%.

The survey revealed that 16% of consumers plan to do 'All' or 'Most' of their shopping via a smartphone or tablet this holiday season — that's up from just 3% who planned to shop via mobile device last year. And 29% (up from 12% in 2011) said they'll use their mobile phone to research gifts prior to a store visit. Also, 43% of the shoppers surveyed said they are 'Very' or 'Somewhat' likely to use their mobile devices for redeeming coupons when making an in-store purchase.

When asked about the most important factors in choosing merchants to shop online this season, 'Good Value' was number one with 87% of the shoppers saying that value was 'Most' or 'Somewhat' important. Price came in second, with 85%.

Across the board, shoppers placed more importance on the reasons they shop online than they did last year. Saving money, locating hard-to-find products, and saving time ranked as the most important reasons for shopping online for the majority of shoppers. However, shoppers are also placing more importance than ever on:

Online peer recommendations/reviews (45% of shoppers said these are 'Very' or 'Somewhat Important' this year as opposed to 34% last year) and finding more personalized gifts (50% of shoppers said this was a 'Very' or 'Somewhat Important' reason for buying online, versus only 41% last year).

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